Tight end Max Klare returns to West Lafayette today to play against the team he played for last year…the Purdue Boilermakers. (Press Pro Feature Photos)
Max Klare outplayed his recruiting profile at Purdue and found a new home at a much higher profile program.
Columbus, OH – The transfer portal creates homecomings like Saturday’s is for Ohio State tight end Max Klare.
When Klare enters Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium to play a football game, the déjà vu will be thick. He played three seasons for Purdue.
“It’ll be a little weird,” he said. “But it’ll be cool.”
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The coolest difference for Klare is that much more will be at stake for him as a Buckeye than it ever was as a Boilermaker. The Buckeyes are 8-0 and the No. 1 team in the country. The Boilers are 2-7 without a Big Ten win and haven’t had a winning season since finishing 7-6 in 2018.
Other than the turnaround Curt Cignetti brought to Indiana last year, the only way to go from a bad season to a great season, from a losing program to a winning one, is to transfer. And Klare is an example of one type of player the transfer rule was changed for, a player who is successful at one tier and seeks to be successful at a higher tier.
Because the rule no longer exists that requires players to sit out a season as a transfer, the possibilities to move to a better program multiplied. For late bloomers like Klare, the portal provides a recruiting season they missed as high school seniors.
Klare understands well the journey from school to school and position to position in search of the best opportunity, the biggest stage.
Klare played at a big-time Division I high school program at Cincinnati St. Xavier. He came across the Indiana border from nearby Guilford, Indiana, to do it. As a sophomore he was a quarterback. He got to throw two passes and carry the ball twice.
Klare played behind Matthew Rueve who threw for over 3,000 yards, Rueve was labeled a 3-star recruit and was considered the top pro-style quarterback in Ohio. He went to Boston College and sat on the bench for four seasons. Rueve did the reverse of Klare and left BC to find playing time. He dropped down to Division II, started at Findlay in 2024 and is a grad transfer and starter this season Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
The next quarterback at St. X was Brogan McCaughey, who now plays for Yale. Klare changed positions to tight end, a move that has paid off far more than sticking at QB ever could have. As a junior, the change didn’t yield much. He caught seven passes.
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But as a senior, Klare caught 39 passes – a lot for a high school tight end – for 637 yards and five touchdowns. He had grown from 6-foot-4 and 196 pounds to 6-5 and 225 pounds. His size and production earned him a 3-star label as the No. 48 tight end and the No. 26 overall prospect in Ohio.
Klare played in two games in 2022 at Purdue and maintained his red shirt. He played in five games in 2023 before and injury ended his season. Then, much like his senior season of school had, his sophomore season at Purdue changed his career trajectory.
Klare led the Boilers with 51 catches for 685 yards and four touchdowns. The coaches voted him third-team all-Big Ten. Suddenly, new opportunities existed. Klare entered the portal and was declared a 4-star prospect, the No. 17 player overall in the portal and the best tight end.
And here Klare is leading the deepest and most productive tight end room in recent Ohio State memory. He is third on the team in receptions (behind, of course, All-American candidates Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate) with 21 for 210 yards and a touchdown. From backup high school quarterback to a college tight end seeking to become an NFL prospect.
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The shift from Purdue’s culture of trying to win has been a big one for Klare into a culture of expecting to win.
“I’m getting more and more comfortable,” Klare said of the Ohio State offense. “Just like anything you do, the more you do, you’ll get more comfortable.”
Head coach Ryan Day says Klare is talented and sees his development as a positive for the offense that will only make the Buckeyes more difficult to stop.
“One of the best things for Max is being at Ohio State,” Day said. “He’s been challenged every day, and because of that he’s becoming a better football player.”
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To excel at Ohio State at any position, because of the high level of recruiting, requires more work and more polish than at a program like Purdue. Day said Klare wants to block like an offensive lineman, run a route like a receiver and protect like a running back. He’s getting there.
“That’s not easy to do and takes time,” Day said.
Klare’s ability to get open and catch the football was never in question. However, blocking has been. He’s not the biggest tight end at 6-5, 243, but that doesn’t get you a pass at Ohio State.
At Wisconsin two games ago, Klare missed some blocks. He tied his season high with five receptions, but he missed blocks. Last Saturday against Penn State, Klare made some key blocks.
“When you look at the tight ends in the NFL, they come from all different backgrounds and stories, and Max is another example of that,” Day said. “He’s getting better each week, and his best football is still ahead of him, which is exciting.”
Klare’s family will be in full force Saturday at Purdue to see him play. They will also be there to see his brother Luke. He is a redshirt freshman tight end for Purdue at 6-6, 240. He has yet to catch a pass.
“That’s very exciting for the family, and also for me to see him out there – it’ll be cool,” Max Klare said. “They’ll kind of be split down the middle. Whoever’s winning, I think they’ll root for them.”
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